The following copending U.S. patent applications by the same Inventor also are directed to night lights: Ser. No. 10/883,747, filed Jul. 6, 2004; Ser. No. 11/092,741; Ser. No. 11/094,215; Ser. No. 11/255,981; Ser. No. 11/498,881; Ser. No. 11/527,631; Ser. No. 11/498,874; Ser. No. 11/527,629; and Ser. No. 11/527,628.
In addition, the Inventor's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,926,440; 6,158,868; 6,170,958; 6,171,117; 6,280,053 disclose arrangements of conductive for night lights and multiple function night lights incorporated time pieces. Other U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,947,291; 5,495,402; 5,662,408; 5,713,655; 5,803,579; 5,816,682; 5,833,350; 5,893,626; 5,998,928; 6,000,807; 6,010,228; 6,031,958; 6,033,087; 6,056,420; 6,132,072; 6,160,948; 6,161,910; 6,183,101; 6,190,017; 6,290,368; 6,337,946; 6,386,730; 6,390,647; 6,00,104; 6,411,524; 6,431,719; 6,509,832; 6,523,976; 6,550,949; 6,609,812; 6,623,416; 6,641,289; 6,648,496; and 6,709,126 all show different light sources and applications but none teaches an LED night light having multiple functions which may be selected from the group including an adaptor device, fan device, heat device, bug repeller device, sonic device, frequency device, or any other home electric appliance or device suitable for adding onto an LED night light.
The current invention offers a big improvement in power saving because it incorporates the low power consumption Light Emitting Diode (LED) to replace the incandescent bulb which normally uses a 4 Watt or 7 Watt or more power consumption light. A single LED normally has a 0.3 Watt+/−100% power consumption depending on the product design and illumination needed.
The current invention not only provides a power saving device but also reduces a consumer's monthly electricity expense. The current invention also supplies two or more additional practical functions to the consumer, which may selected from, for example, an air-freshener and/or (as described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/527,631; 11/527,629; 11/498,881; 11/498,874; and Ser. No. 11/527,628; etc.) an adaptor device, sonic device, frequency device, bug repeller device, second light device, timepiece, electric message device, timer device, temperature device, surge protection device, electric short circuit protection device, base device for installation on an existing lamp socket, emergency light device, or any other electric device(s) used in a home to keep people comfortable or safe.
This current invention optionally may further incorporate the teachings of the copending application entitled “LED night light with more than one optics” concerning the inclusion in the LED night light of an optical element that improves the visibility of light beams from the LED.
All existing LED nightlights have the big problem that the LED unit can be seen by a viewer over a narrow viewing angle only, and that the brightness over that angle is too strong, resulting in spot-light effects (super bright in a small area). The copending application teaches multiple (more than one) optics to provide a big improvement from spot-light to linear or area brightness, thereby causing the spot-light effects to change to a nice looking lighting effect such as that provided by a fluorescent tube. It is very difficult to use only one piece of optics to cause the strong spot-light LED unit(s) to have nice and warm light effects that can be seen by a viewer. This is a big improvement in the LED night light.
The current invention further adds some other arrangement such as reflector(s), bubble(s), or lens(es) within any of the optics to increase the effects of modifying the narrow viewing angle light beams emitted out of the LED(s) to provide linear or area light effects.
Furthermore, the current LED night light invention solves several problems with the most popular night light in the market place. The most popular night light length is around 88 mm+/−50 mm (with base), The lens height is around 60 mm+/−30 mm (without base). The height from the wall outlet cover is around 35 mm+/−15 mm (from outlet cover surface). If the LED unit is placed on the same location as the outlet cover surface, the distance from the wall to the outside of the lens will be less than 35 mm+/−15 mm, which is too short to make the spot-light LED's into a surface or area photometric or lighted area. The problem is solved by using two optics to get a good surface or area lighting effect. In addition, the LED night light power consumption will fall within the 0.3 W+/−100% per LED range, whereas the power consumption of a bulb night light falls within 4 Watt+/−50% per bulb. So the LED night light will have a big power saving and reduce the monthly electric bill for the consumer.
The current invention not only provides a simple multiple function LED night light, but also provides excellent light performance. The LED night light with more than one function can add any function selected from, by way of example, an adaptor device, motion sensor device, PIR sensor device, air freshener, second light device, bug repellent device, sonic repellent device, surge protection device, emergency light device, time device, timer device, or any combination so the LED night light can be have nice light performance with more than single functions.